


Spellbound

by AdventuresofGypsyandRenovski



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Book series, Different Universes, F/M, Kylo Ren and Rey - Freeform, The Magicians - Freeform, alternative universe, kind of like narnia, supernatural kylo ren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-05-03 08:37:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14565198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdventuresofGypsyandRenovski/pseuds/AdventuresofGypsyandRenovski
Summary: Rey Erso gets lost in her childhood books of fantasy that helps her escape mundane reality. Little does she know that her prestigious Yale interview turns out to be something more, leading to her true destiny, not far from the adventures in her favorite books. She also learns that there may be a little more truth to the books than she realized. Rey must navigate through this new territory with her newfound abilities to determine who her allies and enemies are.





	1. The Girl and the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone! First and foremost, a HUGE shout out to my beta reader Kylohhh for reading and helping me make this chapter the best it could be! This is a modern/fantasy AU story that will be loosely based on the series "The Magicians". I plan for this to be a "enemies to lovers" Reylo fic.

“Rey, are you seriously reading those again? I sold mine back in high school for cigarette money. They’re kids’ books!” Jessika Pava pulled Rey from a book that she had read more times than she could count. She rolled her eyes at the comment and continued reading. That was the usual response one would receive when caught reading Core Galaxy books over the age of 14. 

“Well excuse me for wanting to escape the abysmal reality of society for just a few moments. Isn’t your shift over, anyway?” 

“Yeah, I’m leaving in a few. Heading over to a party in Brooklyn tonight, wanna join? I’m sure it’ll be a lot more fun than reading about the Resistance’s mission to destroy the Dark Lord Vader.” She teased, lowering her voice a few octaves for dramatic effect.. Rey sighed and snapped the book shut.

“No thanks. I have my Yale interview tomorrow and I need to get some sleep so I’m ready. So no parties for me, but have fun!” she stated. 

Jessika shrugged and grabbed her bag, leaving Rey to enjoy the last five minutes of her break in silence before she had to head back out and take frappuccino orders from obnoxious 12-year-olds. The coffee shop was not her first choice of career paths, but for now, it paid the rent. Rey just needed to do well in her interview. She didn’t want to think about the possible rejection. Without Yale, she had no plan.

Rey felt lost, depressed, and confused on her purpose in life. Deep down, she knew she was meant for more than the grueling years of graduate school, just to work at an accounting firm, shoving her way up the corporate ladder like everyone else in this world. Then what? What else was there? It was pathetic, but sometimes she longed for the adventure and intrigue she always found in the Core Galaxy books. The author, Maz Kanata, was a genius in the way she created a world full of bright characters and complex themes. It always annoyed Rey when people wrote them off as mere children’s books when there was so much more to them. She would look like an absolute lunatic if she told others about her theories. So Yale it would be, then off to the accounting firm. Hopefully. 

Her shift ended just after 9:00 pm, the last order being the 80-year-old man that demanded a cup of lavender tea at 8:50 pm every night. She had mentioned to him multiple times before that he would save money if he just bought the tea bags that they sold, but he wouldn’t have it. Said it didn’t taste the same. Rey didn’t have the heart to tell him that they had the exact same tea in stock behind the counter, but let him have his fantasy. She wished her fantasy was that easy to fulfill. Instead, Rey’s fantasy involved a galaxy far, far away. 

After closing the shop, she hopped on her bike and rode in the direction of where the Yale interview would be tomorrow. She would be meeting with an alumnus, Jacob Mosenby, at his brownstone. She pumped her legs down the street until she found the vine-covered walls and stairs leading to her hopeful future. After she convinced herself that she wouldn’t get lost tomorrow, Rey rode the rest of the way home thinking about possible answers to the questions he might ask. 

Once home, Rey completed her usual routine of making a cup of turmeric tea and tidying up the house, pulling out a sensible pantsuit for the interview that practically said, “I am the grad student you are looking for. Never late for class and twice as boring as you could have ever imagined”. Satisfied, she curled up in a chair and jumped headfirst into the adventures of the Skywalker twins. Even though Rey had read the books a hundred times, the first book’s dramatic reveal that Dark Lord Vader was the Skywalker twins’ father was still somewhat of a shock. How could someone so evil have such delightful, witty, and positive children? Rey drifted off to sleep as she pondered the question.

\-----------------------------------------------

“You have this! You totally have this. Just smile, maybe show some cleavage and you are set! The guy you are meeting with is really old, right? It’s probably been a while since he’s seen a hot young 23-year-old come prancing into his home!” Jessika’s voice blared in Rey’s headphones as she biked to the interview. She had spent all morning ironing her suit, curling her hair, and testing herself with “Top 15 Graduate School Interview Questions”. She was feeling confident, ready, and sure she was going to blow this interview away.

“Well, I don’t want a sexual harassment scandal before I’ve even received an admission letter, so I’ll pass. I’m sure I can woo him with my creative responses!” She replied, rolling her eyes at her friend’s horrible advice. Rey parked her bike against the brick wall and ascended the stairs. She rang the doorbell several times before checking her phone to ensure it was the right address. After confirming it was correct, Rey also Googled how many times you can ring a doorbell before it’s considered rude. The answer is two or three. She started to knock and tested the doorknob to only to discover that it was unlocked. Well, l if the doorbell ringing was rude then this was a whole new level. 

“Hello? This is Rey Erso. For the Yale interview?” She shouted into the foyer while stepping into the townhome. A small obsidian statue caught her eye. Any Core Galaxy fan would have noticed it. A statue of Dark Lord Vader’s helmet sat on the foyer table. She admired it for a few moments, almost picking it up, before getting back to the task at hand. Perhaps she would have an advantage if he was a fan! Rey walked through the remainder of the foyer into what looked like a study. Upon turning towards the sitting area, a shrill scream escaped her. An old man, in his early 70’s was lying across the couch, his lifeless brown eyes looked directly into her own. 

She yanked her phone out and called the police, turning away from the dead man. This was not how today was supposed to go. Aside from funerals, Rey didn’t linger when there was a corpse around so she remained in the foyer, avoiding the scene until the police and coroner arrived. Biting back the urge to throw up her muffin, she explained what happened to the police as the coroner began examining the man. 

“Is there anything else I need to do? Do I need to go to the station?” she questioned the coroner as he approached with a package in his hand. He was an interesting man, shorter with grey hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked at Rey as if he knew exactly who she was. As if he was waiting for her to be here. It unnerved her, but she brushed it off and blamed her current situation.

“Well, unless you killed him, then no, you should be able to leave!” he smiled cheerfully, as if he weren’t currently handling a crime scene but working at a frozen yogurt shop. Rey smiled back tightly, ready to get out of this twilight zone, and turned to leave. She began drafting the email to the admissions team in her head. Is there a standard protocol for when your interviewer dies? Is that an automatic admission? The coroner called her back just as Rey reached for the door. 

“Hey, are you Rey Erso, by chance?” he walked toward her with a package in his hand. 

“Yes, why?” 

“He left this for you. It’s got your name on it.” he replied, handing over the package. Utterly confused, Rey shook my head. 

“Wait, no, there must be a mistake. I don’t even know this man. I was supposed to be interviewing for admission to the Yale MACC program,” she shook her head and held the package out but the man refused. 

“Well, if it’s got your name on it, I’m assuming he meant it for you. So take it. Have a nice day miss!” With that, he turned around and went back to examining the body. Disoriented, Rey went back to her bike. What if it was an admissions package and they just decided that the interview was more of a confirmation meeting? Do they even do that? Curiosity got the best of her as she opened the package and pulled out what looked like a manuscript. 

“Core Galaxy Series Book VII: The Girl and the Beast,” she read aloud. That made no sense. There was no seventh book. Maz ended it after Dark Lord Vader turned to the light side again fighting his son, Luke Skywalker. Was this some kind of joke? She didn’t have much time to think about it because a gust of wind blew the first page down the street. Rey didn’t notice the dark clouds overhead as she quickly took off into a spring after the missing page. It traveled a couple of blocks before turning through an iron gate that led into a garden with overgrown vines and bushes. She timidly pushed the gate open, hoping her day wasn’t about to end with getting arrested for trespassing. 

She stalked slowly up to the flyaway paper caught in between two overgrown bushes against a brick wall, hoping to end this little chase. Rey reached down to grab the paper, and tripped over a stray tree limb, sending her head first into the bushes, causing the paper to fly out to the other side. She pushed her arms out to catch her fall, expecting to scrape them on the brick wall when she suddenly felt warmth. Rey looked at her outstretched arms to notice the sunlight beaming on her skin. There was no brick wall or hard soil, but lush green grass under her fingers. Rey crawled through to discover that she was in a completely different location. 

Questioning what was in her coffee this morning, Rey forgot about the missing page as a large building caught her eye. It looked reminiscent of an Ivy League school with classic brick and decorative hedges, but there shouldn’t have been a school for miles. That and the weather was still confusing the hell out of her. She stood up and walked towards what looked like an entrance when her view was suddenly blocked. 

“Did you drop this?” Rey’s eyes shifted up to see a guy about her age holding out the missing page. He held the paper out to her and she timidly took it, trusting this man as much as she was trusting these new surroundings. She didn’t have time to think when he grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the entrance. 

“Hey, who do you think you are? Let go of me!” She shouted, wanting to cause the loudest scene possible. He didn’t stop, but looked back at her with confusion, as if the question was completely ridiculous. 

“You’re Rey, right? I’m Finn and you are late!” he replied back, pulling her through the entrance and into a grand hall. 

“Late for what? Where are we?” 

“You are at the Organa School for Magical Pedagogy and you have an entrance exam that starts...in three minutes.” Now Rey had really lost her mind. Magical school? Did she hit her head? Dead interviewers, a seventh Core Galaxy book and now a magical school? Part of her felt like she needed to check herself into a mental hospital, and other half was screaming, ‘Isn’t this what you wanted?’ So, like any rational 23-year-old, Rey followed him. 

“OK fine, but stop holding my hand. I can handle myself!” she announced, attempting to yank her hand away. Finn sighed and dropped it reluctantly as he guided Rey through the halls. He ushered her into what looked like a large lecture hall full of other people and she quickly turned back toward him. 

“Wait, I don’t even have a pencil!” she whispered harshly. Rey’s bag was back at her bike that was left during a hurried chase after a page from a book that wasn’t supposed to exist. Finn shrugged and said “Good luck!” before closing the door. Turning back around, she looked for an empty spot and slid into a chair. In front of her was a blue book that she remembered from college. After looking around the room and noticing no one familiar, Rey’s eyes darted to a patient women in a regal grey gown standing at the front of the room. Everyone else must have noticed because the chattering immediately ceased. 

“Welcome to the Organa School for Magical Pedagogy. You’ve been selected because you have shown potential for magical Force abilities. If you pass this written exam, you will move on to the practical exam. Good luck. You may begin.”


	2. An Uneven Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey continues through her exam and learns more about the school. She meets new friends along the way. But the questions continue to pile up and a dream leaves her even more confused as reality and fantasy begin to blend together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Thanks again to my beta reader Kylohhh. Which by the way guys, she has an AMAZING story if you have not read it yet, "To a Degree", and I suggest you hop over there and check it out. It is cute, witty, hilarious and she is a phenomenal writer :) <https://archiveofourown.org/works/14395614/chapters/33243117>
> 
> And now...Enjoy this chapter!

The written exam was the most confusing fucking thing Rey had ever seen in her life. She had taken pointless classes in college before that came with asinine tests, but this took the cake. The minute the exam begins, she flipped it open and looked down at the first question. She must have taken too long to answer because the question faded into a completely new question. Shocked, Rey began to pick up her pace to try and answer all of the questions before they disappeared.

An hour later, Dean Organa rang a gong at the front of the room and everyone put their pencils down. Rey looked down at her work and never felt more confused. She was positive she just failed. It didn’t even test on anything ‘magic related’. The questions related to her own thoughts on the universe and alternate worlds. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she dragged her feet to drop off the test. The professor took her paper and smiled tightly. ‘This is over before it even began’ she thought to herself, preparing for the rejection. 

“Miss Erso, please continue to room 23 for the next portion of the exam.” Rey perked up and nodded as she swiftly marched herself out of the lecture hall and down the hallway. She opened the door to find the Dean with another professor standing at a table with playing cards lying neatly on top. She glanced back at the door. The Dean and professor were still in the lecture hall when she left, so how did they manage to get here so quickly? Feeling unsteady, she approached the table and eyed the cards. Was her next exam a game of Blackjack?

“Welcome Rey. You passed the written exam and this is the practical portion. If you pass, you will be admitted into the graduate program here at the Organa School for Magical Pedagogy,” the older woman stated, motioning to the cards on the table. “Now, show me some magic.”

Rey stepped up to the table, utterly confused, and timidly picked up the cards. Not sure what to do, she started doing the only magic trick she knew of. Holding out the deck to the older woman, she gestured for her to pick a card.

“This isn’t a magic show. While that trick is good for parties, I’m talking about a different kind of magic. Rey, have you ever felt different from other people? Like you were meant for something more important?” Rey stopped at the woman’s words and set the cards back down on the table. Was this lady reading her journal? Her mind? 

“Y-Yes, but, magic, that type of magic is only in children’s books. It doesn’t exist in the real world. I don’t understand the question,” she replied, positive that this exam was over before it started. The Dean shook her head and smiled. 

“I think you do. I think there is something inside you that has always been there. Now it is starting to feel more prominent. You are more in tune to your surroundings and you feel lost and depressed in this world because it has nothing for you. You are right.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Please stop. I’m nobody,” she started to panic. A bubbling feeling began to drift up, like a pressure that had been waiting for release. She ignored it as the need to escape was beginning to occupy the forefront of her mind. This place was a quack, she knew that now. What was she thinking? 

“No Rey, you don’t belong there. You belong here, where you will learn to harness that power like the other students here do. You have it in you. Now just do some fucking magic!” the Dean shouted, slamming her hands on the table. Rey couldn’t handle the pressure building up in her. 

“Shut up!” Rey yelled back as an unknown force blew the cards off the table and drifted them into a perfect circle, floating around her. Dazzled and terrified, the young women looked up and reached out to touch the card closest to her. It was hovering close to her face with controlled tension, not moving unless she willed it to. She poked the card and it drifted further away from her. She turned to face Dean Organa, who was looking at her with a knowing smile. 

“There it is. Sorry for the outburst. I generally don’t speak like that to prospective students, but I had to do something to stir things up in you a bit for this to happen.” the Dean stated, gesturing to cards around them. “Extreme emotion always accelerates our abilities.” she spoke softly. For the first time, the other professor in the room spoke up. His arms were tightly crossed and his face was scrunched up in annoyance.

“Well, congratulations. As always, you got your wish. Another force user. Exactly what this world needs.” he stated in a gruff voice. Rey shifted her focus and the cards all fell to the ground. She was taken aback by the aggressiveness of the other professor. She didn’t have much time to ponder his intentions when the Dean clapped once, ignoring the man beside her as if she was used to his ramblings. 

“Yes, congratulations indeed. Welcome to graduate school. Let’s go fill out some paperwork shall we?” the older woman responded. Her eyes still on the cards below her, Rey could feel tendrils of energy flowing through her. Had she really just made those cards move just with her emotions and mind? Is that what this school was about? Why had this unknown force chosen now of all times to show itself? Questions flooded her mind as she following the professor and Dean Organa in a daze. It was time to get answers. 

__________________________________________

 

“So you’re telling me that this is a school where people have some sort of “force” or magical ability? Why me? I’ve never done anything like that before,” Rey asked as she played with the hem of her blazer. 

She was in Dean Organa’s office, seated across from the older woman with an enrollment form directly on the desk in front of her. The Dean had given her a brief history of the school. As Rey understood it, the school was created to teach students with force sensitivities how to control and manage their abilities. The older woman stressed that the school only used these abilities for magnanimous purposes. 

“Well, sometimes we can’t choose when this sensitivity awakens in us. What we can choose is what we do with it. That’s why you are here. You’ll take different classes, learn spells that can help manipulate and use the force in the safest way. This is your chance to make the difference that you wanted Rey. All you have to do is sign that form and we’ll get you started.” With that, Dean Organa concentrated her eyes on a pen in front of her. The pen lifted and floated directly towards Rey and she gingerly reached out and took it in her hand. 

“But what about the outside world? Is this an alternate universe? What about my friends, my job, my old life?” she asked, clutching the pen tightly. She wasn’t ready to sign yet. 

“This place is protected by wards set up by my brother when he was a professor here. The school is in its own little bubble in upstate New York. As for your family and friends? As soon as you sign that form, we will contact your employer and family, letting them know that you are enrolled in a prestigious graduate program and fellowship. Easy as that.” 

Rey was still hesitant, but she could feel this new power, whatever it was, pulsing through her and without the Dean or this school, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to control it. Gripping the pen, she signed on the bottom of the last page and pushed the form away from her.

“Alright then, let’s get you settled into your dorm and classes. Welcome to your new life, Rey.”

_____________________________________________________________

Rey stood in her new dorm room, completely shocked that all of her belongings were there, packed neatly for her to arrange. Finn had told her before he dropped her off that her new life as a student started immediately and that her apartment lease and job had been taken care of. Rey felt like pinching herself as she didn’t quite believe it all. 

She noticed her messenger bag lying on her perfectly made bed and her eyebrows furrowed. She distinctly remembered leaving that on her bike during her manuscript chase. The manuscript! She spotted it right next to the bag checked to make sure the first page was once again where it was supposed to be. Rey sat on the bed and touched the pages as if she was afraid it would start talking to her. “The Girl and the Beast”. That made absolutely no sense. None of the other titles matched this one. Who was the girl supposed to be, Leia Skywalker? That couldn’t be right. Maz would have never just reduced someone as brave as Princess Leia to just a “girl”. The Princess had aided the Rebels against the evil Empire that Dark Lord Vader commanded and helped lead them into their final fight on the planet of Endor in the sixth book, “The Return of the Jedi”. She couldn’t be the “girl” the title was referring to. 

“Here she is! Our new protege!” a booming voice pulled Rey from her thoughts. She quickly shoved the book back in her back and looked up to see Finn and another guy standing in her open doorway. She stood up nervously and held out her hand. 

“Finn! Hi! Who is your friend?” she asked, eyeing the man beside Finn. He was attractive with tan skin and well kept, but slightly curly black hair. Finn gave her a strange look before turning to introduce his friend.

“This is Poe Dameron. Poe, meet Rey. She was late for the exam this morning, but still passed.” Finn replied. Poe returned the handshake and held her hand a little longer than strictly necessary for your standard handshake.

“Pleasure to meet you, Rey. Welcome to Organas. Finn and I were just thinking of walking around campus to check out all of the fresh meat. Want a tour? It’s much more fun than the orientation committee!” Poe exclaimed. 

Rey pulled her hand back and crossed her arms. She really wanted to stay in the room and keep digging through the manuscript she found. But her new abilities and learning more about this new school were more important than a lost children’s book right now. Plus, she could use the friends! 

“Sure! Let’s go!” she replied as she practically pushed them out the door. Finn and Poe exchanged looks before leading her down the hallway to the outside quad.

As they stepped outside, Rey started to look around at her new home. It was much more lively, with people studying on the lawn and a fountain with a statue of a woman holding an ornate bowl the middle of the quad, the water flowing from the bowl with a relaxing flow. She admired the elegant dress and hairstyle of the statue. The woman looked regal and important. Rey made a mental note to herself to find out the story behind the statue later. 

The fresh air and warm sun felt worlds away from the grey skies back home. The Dean had mentioned that they were in New York, but it did not feel like the New York at all. She tuned out Finn and Poe’s discussion of their schedule and what professors they had for the first round of classes, until she heard her name once more. 

“Rey, are you listening?” Finn asked. She realized that they had stopped walking and that she was several feet in front of them. Sheepishly, she smiled and turned back. 

“Sorry, this is all so new to me. I’m from the city, so it’s all brick, stone, and metal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much green before. The Dean mentioned that we were still in upstate New York and that there were wards, but how can that be? Are we in another dimension?” Rey asked. 

Poe laughed and shook his head as he clapped a hand on her shoulder. 

“Oh, Rey, you have so much to learn. C’mon, we’ll give you a little history lesson, so pay attention this time!” he stated as they began to walk again. 

“Organa’s was created by Dean L. Organa. She discovered that other people shared the same force magic as her family.” 

“What does the ‘L’ stand for?” she asked. 

Finn spoke up before Poe could reply. 

“No one knows. It’s always been like that.” he whispered, as if it were a major secret. 

“Anyway, not important. So this school is for people with force abilities. We go to classes, learn how to harness and control it. Then we use the force to protect people who don’t have abilities like us. We only use our abilities for good though. There is a dark side of the force that this school does not teach. In fact, if you want to stay in good standing, don’t even mention it to the librarian.”

“But what is the force? I feel like I have powers that I don’t even know anything about,” Rey complained. She kept thinking back to the Jedi in the Core Galaxy Series. They too had some magical power that allowed them to manipulate objects and even people to protect the galaxy. The Jedi had lightsabers that they used as weapons against the soldiers of the Empire. The greatest battles in the books were fought between Luke Skywalker and Dark Lord Vader. 

“It’s hard to explain, but the force is all around us and it connects us to the Earth. Your professors will probably explain it better than we can. Just wait until your first class,” Finn stated passively. Rey smiled and nodded, but she was hungry for more knowledge. If she has this ability to use the force too, she wanted to know everything she could about it. 

“So what all does it do?” she asked, hoping they’d have a more definite answer this time. 

“The force has a lot of complexities to it. The school breaks students up into specialties based on the way that students best wields the force. You’ll probably pick your specialty sometime this year. Look over there for example. You have the force users that work best with the mind.” Rey turned her head to where Poe was pointing and saw two students with their arms outstretched towards each other in silence. Their brows were furrowed in determination. “Over here, you have what we call the Yoga kids, where all they do is meditate and ‘feel’ in the force. You have the force fighters that use their ability to fight and protect. Then finally, you have us, the Physical kids. Our specialty is manipulation of people and objects.” Poe finished his lecture by placing his wallet in his hand and with wide eyes, Rey watched the wallet slowly lift off of his hand and into the air. She focused on Poe’s eyes as he focused. Finn stood beside him with a smirk, as if it were some lame party trick. 

“That’s amazing!” she whispered, her eyes on the wallet. She slipped her hand into the space between Poes wallet and his hand. She could feel tingling in her arm and shivered. It reminded her of when she manipulated the deck of cards. As terrified as she was of this newfound power, Rey could not wait to study and learn what to do with it. A ping of jealousy stabbed at her as she watched Poe confidently lower the wallet back into his hand. Finn and Poe were both a year older than her, but she felt much more behind. Hell, she didn’t even know what kind of power she had. What kind of specialty would she be? 

Poe slapped the wallet into her hand and gestured to her as he crossed his arms. “Go ahead. You try it!” Finn rolled his eyes and grabbed it, putting it back into his friend’s hand. 

“She still has a lot to learn, Dameron.” Poe turned from Rey and faced Finn, as if he were about to ignite an argument when Finn pointed to the fountain a few yards away from them. 

“Look! It’s Rose Tico! She’s a first year too. I heard that she wasn’t invited to take the exam. They say she found her way into Organa’s and took it anyways. She freaking blew it away with an almost perfect score on her written exam.” Rey looked at the girl Finn was pointing to. She was sitting on the fountain, hunched over reading a book. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and she was dressed in a no-nonsense olive military jacket and dark jeans. She had an air of loneliness about her. 

“Well, I would hope for a perfect score, considering she comes from a magical family. It’s a shame about her sister though. They never found her.”

“Yeah, that reminds me. Hey Rey, don’t try force magic that has been banned from the school. People literally disappear. Some stuff is advanced, even for the Dean.” Finn informed her, but Rey’s eyes were still watching Rose. 

“What do you mean she wasn’t invited? I wasn’t invited. I just, um, stumbled in here!” she exclaimed. Finn smiled and nodded. 

“You were invited. It’s not the traditional Hogwarts letter, Rey.” 

That didn’t make any sense. How could someone with a family immersed in the force not be invited to the school? Rey could barely use what force ability she did have and she found her way into the exam. Why not this girl? Did it have something to do with her sister and the banned magic? Rey could only assume she had gotten hurt or expelled. Rey made a mental note to find out more about Rose and her sister. It was another question to add to the growing list Rey had about this place. She pulled herself from her thoughts to find that Finn and Poe had changed the subject back to a class that they were in together. She listened intently and asked questions along the way. 

After another hour of walking the campus, Rey felt a little more acclimated. She toured the cafeteria, which had amazing food according to Finn. She saw the library and instantly fell in love with the mountain of old books. Rey would definitely be catching up on her history there. Once they got back to her dorm, they promised to get coffee after the first class tomorrow and Poe scribbled his cell phone number down for Rey to “call in case she needed anything”. That warranted another eye roll from Finn. She laughed and closed the door to her room behind her. Turning back to the bed, she realized that they talked about classes and she still had no clue what classes she was taking! 

As if on cue, a piece of paper slid through the door. She picked it up and turned it over to read, “Class Schedule for the Fall Semester” with her name scribbled next to it. She scanned the classes to see that she was in what seemed to be the basic courses. History of the Force, Foundations in the Force, and Intro to Force Philosophy and Doctrine to name a few. She’d have to grab her books after her classes tomorrow. Placing the schedule on her desk, Rey shoved everything off of her bed and plopped down into her covers. She attempted to use the force to turn her light off, but after ten minutes of no luck, she sighed and got up to flip the light switch herself. Not even five minutes later, Rey drifted to sleep. 

\-----------------------------------------

_Rey was walking through a hallway of black and chrome. Every step she took was a deafening ‘clink’ against the metal floor. She tried to quiet her footsteps until she could figure out where she was and if she was safe. This was a dream. It had to be. She looked down at her clothing to see that she was not wearing what she wore to bed. She was in boots, utility pants, a tank top, a flowing sash tied with a belt and armbands. Where the hell was she? Rey took a few steps forward and turned down the hallway to see a room with red curtains covering what seemed to be floor to ceiling windows. An empty throne sat in the middle._

_Rey approached a curtain and slowly pulled it back, apprehensive about what she would find on the other side. She gasped as her gaze was met with empty, black, space; her eyes took in the endless disarray of faraway stars. She was on some sort of spaceship. It reminded her of the Core Galaxy series, although it didn’t match the description of any of the ships from the books. Could this be connected to the manuscript she found? She cursed herself for not reading more when she got back to her room. This felt less like a dream and more like an out of body experience. She was fully conscious of the day before and what she had been doing. The exam. The force, all of it. She stepped back, dropping the crimson curtain to cover the window once more. Turning on her heels to explore more of this ship, Rey was startled to see that she wasn’t alone._

_A young man, in his early twenties and dressed in all black, was standing in the middle of the throne room. He had sandy blonde hair and familiar piercing blue eyes. Rey felt as if she had seen this man before, though she had no idea where. She held her hands up in defense as she saw his hand approach a weapon on the holster on his hip. Was that a lightsaber?_

_“Who are you? I mean you no harm!” she shouted, her voice echoing in the room. His hand dropped from the holster down to his side._

_“You’re the girl. Rey,” was all he said. Confusion bristled through Rey’s senses and she took another step back. Who was this man and how did he know her name? A gleaming symbol on his belt caught her eye. It was the Rebels symbol from the Core Galaxy series! Maz had drawn it on one of the pages for dramatic effect. Rey took in the man’s appearance once more. The hair, childish features, all black outfit. It was Luke Skywalker. His features matched the description of him in book six perfectly._

_“You’re Luke Skywalker.” she whispered. He took a step toward her and smiled. Rey couldn’t believe it. She was standing in front of one of her childhood heroes! What a dream. She had so many questions to ask him. Like the manuscript! Maybe he would know! Part of her was thinking that she had severely distorted her own reality and the other part was close to tears that she was standing before Luke-fucking-Skywalker. She was about to begin her assault of questions when he held a hand up to stop her._

_“He’s coming for you, you know,” he said slowly to her. Well, that wasn’t what she was expecting._

_“Who? Dark Lord Vader?” she asked, playing along. Maybe he had no idea that he was a famous book character._

_“The Beast.” There it was. That ‘Beast” from the manuscript title._

_“What do you mean, I don’t understand.”_

_“You need to leave the school. If you stay, he will find you. Go back home, Rey. He’s coming,” Luke urged. Rey didn’t understand. Her two worlds were blending together and she couldn’t make sense of it._

_“I can’t go. That school is my new home. I belong there. Tell me who the Beast is!” she demanded. Luke shook his head nonchalantly and shrugged._

_“I’m just telling you what I see. Stay on this path, and the Beast will find you. Leave, and you are safe.” This statement made Rey angry for multiple reasons. The Luke from the books would have kindly explained to her everything he knew. This Luke seemed different and defeated. She wasn’t taking no for an answer._

_“Why will he find me? What does he want with me!?” she yelled back. Luke turned away and began walking the other direction. Rey hurried after him and she reached out to grab him to realize her hand went right through him as if he were a ghost. Stunned by the encounter, Rey watched Luke approach an elevator. He stepped through and turned to her one last time._

_“Leave the school, Rey. Get off of that path. It’s time for the Jedi to end.”_

_With that, the elevator doors closed in her face and she was alone again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading! Please leave comments and kudos (if you enjoyed, of course). Stay tuned for the next chapter. It's going to dig deeper and we will finally have a little Kylo action!


	3. The Seance that Wasn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's first day of classes is off to a rocky start. With eccentric teachers, stolen items, and strange connections, Rey has to continue putting the pieces together in her new life. Not to mention the strange request from one of her classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So sorry for the late posting, life really did get in the way. But...to make up for it, I'm posting two chapters for you! So enjoy :) As always, a very special "thank you" to my betareader Kylohhh.

The first day of classes was not off to a good start for Rey. She woke up abruptly and grabbed her phone to check the time. The bright, white "9:00 AM" glaring on the screen gave her a shock. She had exactly 30 minutes to get ready for the first class. Her heart skipped a beat as she flung herself out of bed and initiated the rush of throwing clothes on, running a brush through her hair and pulling half of it up into a small ponytail. Tugging on her grey henley, Rey grabbed a notebook and pencil and shot out of the door.

On the way to class, she combed through her mind to determine the meaning of the dream from the night before. Sure, she had dreams involving the Galaxy Core series before, but they were mostly a 'self-insert' style in which she fought the famous battles beside her favorite twin heroes. This was different, more personal and real. What was Luke saying, “Stay on this path and the Beast will find you"? It was complete nonsense. Surely there was a connection to the manuscript and the dream. The damn manuscript! When was she ever going to take the time to read it? Rey affirmed to herself that she would block the hour before dinner to scan the manuscript for answers. She kept replaying the last words from Luke, “It's time for the Jedi to end.” The Jedi didn’t exist in this world, so why would he say something like that? ‘The manuscript will have all the answers that I am looking for, so it's pointless to speculate until then!’ she reasoned with herself as she walked through the door of Professor Holdo’s classroom.

By the time she arrived, the only seats left were in the front of the class. Cringing, Rey took one set her notebook down. She slid into the desk, hoping that Professor Holdo wasn’t the type to call on the students in the front of the classroom, because Rey had no idea what the hell she was doing.

“Are you holding this seat for anyone?” a quiet voice pulled Rey from her inner misery and she looked over to see Rose Tico pointing to the desk beside her.

“Nope. All yours. I was just thinking that I didn’t want to sit up here with the overachievers, but I guess that plan is out when you oversleep, huh?” she joked. Rose didn’t laugh and set her things down on the desk. Of course, she had all the books required for her classes and a classy leather-bound notebook that looked like it belonged in a Harry Potter novel.

“I like to sit up front,” Rose stated. Rey smiled awkwardly, mentally kicking herself for making a joke of that nature before knowing the person and their academic ambitions.

“Right. I wasn’t saying you were an overachiever or anything, I just don’t know what I’m doing and sitting up here will probably lead to embarrassment,” she responded, attempting to remedy the situation. She cleared her throat and pointed to Rose’s notebook.

“Nice um, notebook. Mine is leftover from old accounting notes from undergrad. I need to get one like yours!” she joked once more, inwardly cringing. ‘Just. Stop. Talking. Now’ she told herself as she turned back towards the front of the classroom. Before Rose could respond, the professor walked in.

Professor Amilyn Holdo took ownership of the room with each commanding step. She exuded confidence with her short and wavy lavender hair and matching pantsuit and charismatic smile. Her bright blue eyes gave off the impression that she didn’t give a fuck about what anyone thought of her. Rey remembered Poe mentioning that he and Professor Holdo did not get along. According to Finn, the screaming matches between those two all came down to Poe not following orders and the rules of the school; She even created a nickname for him, “flyboy”.

“Good morning everyone. Welcome to the first class of your new journey in the force. You may have grown up knowing about your abilities, but not quite sure how to use them. You may have just learned about your abilities and haven’t even begun to delve into what you can do. Either way, this is a new beginning for everyone. I won’t go over the theories and history of our knowledge of the force, Professor Connix can do that. We are going to get our hands dirty and actually use the force in this class. We are going to discover what each and every one of you are capable of. Let’s start with a volunteer,” she addressed the class as she scanned the room full of raised hands. Rey did not have her hand raised as she wasn’t sure of what she could or couldn’t do.

“Miss Tico. I remember your sister, Paige. Bright student. Come on up and you can demonstrate something for us.”

Rose mumbled a “Thank you” and stepped up to the front desk of the classroom. On top of the desk were three hoops, that reminded Rey of little Quidditch hoops, each at a different height. The professor handed a small, white marble over to Rose and gestured at the hoops.

“The force is unimaginable. You can harness it for just about anything. Today, Rose is going to show us the technique of using the force to manipulate objects. While we can bend the will of such objects, it is an important lesson to note that these are indeed objects. The manipulation of people around us is not what this school condones. It is not our right to toy with others with the use of the force. Rose, please lift that marble in your hand and push it through those three hoops.”

Rey leaned forward on her desk, waiting for the magic to happen. As if it bored her, Rose glared fiercely at the white marble and it began to lift from her hands, drifting toward the first hoop. Rey held her breath as it went through the first hoop and aimed for the second. After the second hoop, Rose smiled to herself as she focused in on completing the task when suddenly the professor clapped her hands, causing the marble to drop to the desktop just before succeeding through the final hoop. Rose gasped and looked at the older woman with contempt, as if Professor Holdo ruined her moment.

“And that, folks, is what happens when we lose our focus. You see, there are many techniques in the force, but you will never fully master it unless you keep your focus. With that, begins our first lesson: Meditation. Thank you, Miss Tico, you may go back to your seat.”

Rose pouted and walked back to her seat. She refused to make eye contact with Rey and faced forward the remainder of the class. The lecture continued on the basics of meditation and ended with the professor assigning homework; meditate for 30 minutes. As students filed out of the classroom, Rey fought through the crowd to keep up with Rose.

“That was amazing what you did in class! I need to get to your level!” she exclaimed. Rose stopped walking and turned to her.

“Well, that’s why you’re here isn’t it? We all have this wonderful ability.” Rose retorted with sarcasm. Rey was taken aback by the girl's abrasiveness. What had she done to receive such aggressiveness?

“So is this how you plan on getting through the next few years of graduate school? Being rude to everyone so you can be on top in the end? Don’t you want friends?” Rey snapped. Her voice was a little louder than she anticipated. People turned to look at the two girls and Rey rolled her eyes. A scene was the last thing she wanted.

“You don’t know anything about me, and no, I didn’t come here to make friends and use the force to talk my way out of a parking ticket. I came here to learn about the force so I can find my sister!” Rose shouted back. The look on her face revealed that she said too much. She quickly wiped her tears , mumbled “I’ll see you next class”, and walked off quickly, leaving Rey standing with everyone staring at her.

 

\-----------------------------

Rey pushed through her next class, "Intro to Force Philosophy & Doctrine", which was much more boring than Professor Holdo’s lecture that morning. Professor Connix tried her best to make the class fun and interesting, but Rey's mind was occupied with the fight she had with Rose. She couldn't understand someone not wanting friends. All Rey wanted was friends. She felt like she could never fully connect with other people. Not until she came here. She couldn't imagine what she would do without Finn and Poe. She could only hope that Rose would warm up to the idea of being friends and they could work it out. After all, they shared the same classes.

During lunch, Rey grabbed a salad and found Finn and Poe sitting by the far window of the cafe. She stalked over to them and plopped her stuff down before hiding her face in her crossed arms on the table.

“Bad first day?” Finn asked in between mouthfuls of his chicken sandwich.

“Nah, she got in a fight with Rose Tico. I heard about it in "Advanced Force Physical Techniques". That girl may be little but she has bite to her! Finn, you need more spice in your life, why don’t you ask our friend here to get her number for you?” Poe joked. Rey groaned at the thought of being the subject of gossip around the school. She didn’t think they were being that loud, but Rose was really angry. She hadn’t meant to upset the girl that much, it just irked her that she had such an attitude and all Rey wanted was a friend. She didn’t have many back in her old life. Old life. Funny that there’s a distinction between the two now.

“You guys, Professor Holdo embarrassed her in today's class by distracting her, so I think that triggered it. If I see her again before tomorrow, I’m going to apologize. She really wants to know what happened to her sister. Do you know?” she asked, breaking into her salad.

“Well, Paige was a third-year student when I got here. That year, there was a rumor going around that all of the third years had a secret underground club with Dean Organa. Made up of her best force users. Some people say that this club did ‘missions’ of sorts. They called themselves the “Resistance”.

“That sounds like the Core Galaxy Rebels! The one that Leia Skywalker eventually led?”

“God, Rey what are you, eleven? I mean, I guess it’s similar if you think about it, but it’s clearly not the same thing. Anyway, during the middle of the year, all of the third-year students just vanished. Right before Christmas break.”

“So then what happened?” Rey asked.

“No clue. That’s where it ends. I used to help archive the Dean’s books in her office so I asked one day and it’s the last time I’ll ask, I’ll tell you that. I’ve never been slapped by a woman before and I don’t want it to happen again,” Poe finished, leaning back in his chair.

Rey was even more confused. How does an entire class disappear? What were these missions that Poe was talking about? Did Rose know about any of this? Maybe they could work together to figure out what happened. The strangest part was the Dean not giving Poe any answers. She wasn't surprised about the slapping part, she’d seen the older woman’s darker side before. Feeling more defeated than before, Rey resigned herself to studying. Finn and Poe shoved their old first-year books at her before she left and she gratefully scooped them up in her arms, promising them that she will pay them back someday. She waved goodbye to her friends and made her way back to her dorm.

\----------------------------------------------

Once in her dorm, Rey furiously searched for the manuscript only to discover that it was nowhere to be found. Having a slight panic attack, Rey recounted her steps the night before and realized that it should be under her bed, but it was not. She shuffled frantically through her belongings once more and to her dismay, the manuscript was nowhere to be found. Tears brimmed her eyes as her thoughts ran through the possibilities of how it could've been stolen. No one else knew about it but her, well, and that coroner, but he was back in New York. How could she have been so irresponsible? All of the questions, the dream, everything she wondered was supposed to be in that damn manuscript! Now she would never know. In a very weird way, she felt like she let Luke Skywalker down. Rey held back a sob as she raced from her dorm room to the Dean’s office. She had to report it missing! She got to the door, just about to knock, when she heard shouting.

“No Leia, Ben’s gone. Leave it alone. I’m done talking about this. I told you, we've lost him!” a man shouted. Rey recognized the same gruff voice from the professor that was in her practical exam. Leia? Did she just hear that correctly?

“He’s not gone, Han. It was Snoke. He turned Ben over to the dark side. There is still light in him I know it,” the Dean snapped with a shaky voice. The dark side? Now Rey had to admit that all of this was starting to sound strange. Was the loss of the manuscript screwing with her? It had to be. Leia? Darkside? None of it was real.

“Well, you can count me out of this charade. I’m not getting my hopes up on this one. Every other time, it’s the same bullshit over and over again. Like the Resistance. Wasn’t their sacrifice enough for you?” the man, Han, continued. Rey jumped back as she realized there were footsteps approaching and she didn't want to get caught eavesdropping. She stepped aside to make it look like she just arrived when the door opened. Both Han and the Dean looked at her in surprise.

“Oh, Rey! Did we have an appointment? I’m sorry, it’s been so busy to keep track of everyone these days,” the Dean cheerfully announced, as if the argument had never happened.

“Uh, no. I-I need to report a stolen item. I had a manuscript of a book in my dorm room but now its missing. My door was locked and everything. This book is so important to me, I have to get it back,” she rambled as Han walked past her to go down the hallway.

“Oh no! That’s really unfortunate. I’ll talk with our dorm staff immediately and see if they’ve noticed anything strange. While I do that, go ahead and make signs and put them up in the lecture halls, cafe, wherever you want. We’ll find it. I assure you this school does not tolerate thieves. When I found out who stole it, consequences will be delivered. What was the name of the book?”

“Well, it’s supposed to be the seventh book in the Core Galaxy Series, “The Girl and the Beast”. It was given to me before I arrived here.” Rey stated sheepishly, bracing herself for the usual judgment. The Dean placed her hands on her hips and turned her head to the side as if deep in thought.

“Hmmm, I didn’t know Maz was writing another book. I thought it ended nicely with the sixth! Such a happy ending for the twins. I’d hate to read another one to find out things had changed…” she replied, her voice carrying off. Rey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Maz? Did the Dean know the author really well?

“I’ll do the posters like you said. Thank you for your help, Dean Organa. I’d better get back to my room and study. I have meditation to do!” Rey stated, turning to head back to the dorm. She turned once more to see the Dean still in thought. Rey couldn’t decide if she was thinking about the fight with Professor Solo and the Dean or the conversation that they just had about her missing manuscript.

Feeling defeated, she walked out into the Quad and took a seat by the fountain. She admired the statue of the beautiful woman standing in the middle. She envied the confidence that seemed to radiate from the woman’s carved, immaculate face. She leaned in a little closer to see a gold plaque that she hadn’t noticed before. “Padme,” it read. She reached her hand out when someone tapped her on her shoulder. Turning, Rey noticed Rose looking down at the ground. Well, guess it's time for the apology tour.

“Hey Rose, I’m sorry about earlier. Today did not go at all like I planned. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” she started.

“I need your help with something. Come to the library with me?” Rose asked, ignoring the apology and grabbing Rey’s arm. Rey shrugged it off and nodded, following the shorter young woman to the library.

The library had to be the best place on campus. The marble floors, cozy tables and chairs, and, of course, the rows and rows of books pulled her in with their majestic aura. Rey ran her hand along the spines on a shelf as they walked toward a table in the back. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on them. Though she couldn’t trust herself with books anymore, given that she lost the one book she really needed. Rey would kick herself forever if it didn’t turn up at some point.

Rose dropped her bag and began pulling items out while Rey took a seat next to her. One book, in particular, caught her eye. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed a leather-bound notebook with a very familiar symbol etched on the front.

“What book is this?” she asked with wide eyes. She began skimming the pages to see handwritten notes. “This symbol...it’s-”

“The symbol of an old club here, the Resistance. What about it?” Rose asked, yanking the book from Rey.

“It’s the Rebel symbol from the Galaxy Core Series,” she replied, crossing her arms.

“Correct. Paige always told me that the books held significance to their cause. Like an inspiration, I guess. Anyway, that’s not important. I need your help with something,” Rose whispered, turning the book to one page and turning it to show Rey. Rey shifted closer and read the title.

“Force Projection. What about it? Is it like Astral Projection? Are we going to teleport to the outside world for some pizza? Because let me tell you, that's one of the foods I really miss!” Rey exclaimed, receiving a few glares from other students and Rose. Rose rolled her eyes and continued.

“No. In these notes, my sister's notes, the Resistance were working on a way to reverse project in the force. As in, bring someone to you, rather than you go to them. I have no idea how it’s possible but I have to try to bring Paige back and find out what happened to her,” Rose explained. Rey’s eyes widened in shock.

“You mean you want to do a seance? Count me out. I didn’t sign up for ghosts!” she whispered harshly. Wincing a bit from her choice of words, Rey looked at the page once more. Could it work? She was just as curious as Rose was about the Resistance and the connection to her sister’s disappearance. Especially with the argument, she heard from Dean Organa.

“It’s not a seance, Rey”

“Ok, if we could do this, how does it work?” Rose smiled and shuffled in her notebook. She shoved the notes over and Rey attempted to read the messy writing.

“So, all we have to do is meet up at Profesor Holdo's lecture hall at 11:30 pm. In the notes, Paige says that it works best at midnight in a quiet and empty place, so they must have figured it out. We meet up, join hands and combine our force abilities, and use the force to try and pull Paige from her current location to us. Then we can ask her. I don’t know how much time we’ll have, but I have to know where she is so I can find her. I have to bring her back.”

“Wait, so you think Paige is alive?” Rey asked, crossing her arms. This ‘favor’ was getting more weird by the minute.

“She has to be. Dean Organa has never contacted the parents to tell them that the missing students are dead. Why would she? I think she knows exactly where they are but won’t tell us. The Resistance was working for her after all. When you ask her, she says they are 'on assignment'.”

“That isn’t right. I honestly don’t think that the Dean would just let this slide without telling parents the truth. That’s their children. There is something off about this, Rose.”

“Are you in this with me or not? If this works Rey, we will be above everyone else’s expertise in class. Just think about it.”

Rey sighed and looked down once more at the page. She had a bad feeling about this. Rose was right, this would put them at the top of their class, but at what cost? Deep down, Rey felt like it was not a coincidence that she is working with Rose on something that involved the Resistance. Especially with her dream last night and the same symbol on Luke Skywalker's belt. This couldn’t be more of a sign if it reached out and smacked her in the face.

“Alright. I’m in. We’ll do the seance. Meet there at 11:30 pm tonight?” she stated. Rose smiled once again and gathered all of her books back into her bag.

“Perfect! Can you bring Finn and Poe? I know you hang out with them and the notebook says it works better with four people!” Rose replied. Rey sighed at the new development. Getting those two to join was going to be fun, though she had a feeling they would do it just for more gossip material.

“Sure. See you then!”

“Oh, and Rey? It’s not a seance.” 

\--------------------------------------

At 11:45 pm that evening, Rey, Poe, and Finn whispered along the Quad as they made their way to the lecture hall.

“This better be good. I have a quiz tomorrow. Her sister better show up. I didn't screw up my eight hours of sleep for nothing!” Poe declared as they entered the building.

“Guys, she really believes her sister is alive. So, just be nice to her, okay? Let’s hope for the best. Honestly, I could use some answers myself. I keep learning more and more about this school and each day brings more questions than answers,” Rey whispered as they entered the classroom. Poe was about to reply when he noticed Rose seated in the front of the room with candles lit in a circle and the notebook on the floor in front of her. She looked up and gestured for them to join her.

“C’mon, it’s 11:50 pm. We have only 10 minutes to get our focus lined up in the force to make this work!” she whispered hurriedly. The three students sat down around her in a circle and they all joined hands.

“So what are we focusing on here?” Poe asked, completely skeptical about this entire plan.

“Focus on Paige. I've brought a picture of her. Focus on her face and this location and we will use our combined abilities to pull her to this room. But we have to start right at midnight. Let me do the talking. I don't know how much time we'll have.”

Rey looked down at the picture. Paige looked much like Rose, though she seemed taller than her sister. She had a look of wisdom and determination about her. Rey wasn’t surprised that she was in this Resistance club with the Dean. Her expression was one of unshakable resilience. With two minutes left, everyone closed their eyes and focused in on their task at hand. Rey had been practicing meditation for a few hours in her dorm, but she hoped that was enough to pull this off.

The force was still new to her and felt very strange and invading. She brought up the picture of Paige in her mind and the room they were sitting in. She felt the earth beneath her, rustling and moving with never-ending life. She felt the birds and creatures above her, drifting into the night sky. She also felt something else, something that was calling to her. 

Rey reached into the feeling and heard a familiar humming sound. It was the same sound she heard on the spaceship in her dream with Luke Skywalker. She found herself searching there, a hall appeared before her. At the end was a man, in all black, with a mask. He turned quickly and stretched his arm out to her. Rey felt drawn, yet threatened by the man. She was also curious. Was this another dream? 

Curious, Rey extended her own arm to his. She was so close that she could hear heavy breaths escape the man’s mask as if he were just as curious and threatened as she was. Their hands touched and she gasped as she was flooded with emotions. Anger, hatred, sadness, and loneliness. She was drowning in them. Was this his doing? Was this how he felt? 

“Who are you?” she whispered shakily. The man didn’t answer her, he just took a step toward her. Suddenly, his grip tightened on her hand. Rey attempted to pull her hand back in a panic, with no luck, as he started to pull her closer to him. She was really regretting her curiosity. 

“L-Let me go. Please,” she asked as she continued her struggle. The man showed no exhaustion from her attempts and only tightened his hold. “Stop now! Let go of my hand!” Rey begged, praying this vision would end. Where were Poe and Finn? She needed them! This man wasn’t like Luke. She felt like he was going to consume her. She continued screaming at the top of her lungs when another yell pulled her from her trance. 

“Rey, wake up!” She opened her eyes to see Finn in her face. She looked around to see Rose sulking as she blew out the candles.

“W-what happened, did you guys see that? Where is Paige? Did it work?” she asked, her voice slightly shaky.

“No, the seance didn’t work,” Poe responded, looking at his nails in a bored manner. Rose huffed and shoved everything into her bag.

“It wasn't a damn seance and it didn’t work, because no one focused. So thank you for wasting my time. I’ll find someone else who can help,” Rose huffed, walking out of the door. The other three sat in silence. Rey took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

“I had such a weird vision. Of grey and steel halls. A man in a mask,” she whispered. Poe and Finn looked over at her, Poe’s eyebrow raised in skepticism.

“Rey, it just sounds like you had a little liquid courage before coming here. You sure you didn’t take a sip out of that flask back in my room?”

“No, I didn’t. Let’s just call it a night. Classes are going to be super fun with her tomorrow,” she groaned. She was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. Her stomach felt like it was in knots. This vision seemed a bit more sinister than the dream she had the night before. It, or he, the man in the mask, was calling her to him. Who was he? She picked up her bag and followed the other two out of the classroom.

As they went their separate ways, all three planned to meet up for lunch the next day to talk about what happened. Poe and Finn wanted the juicy details from Rey being in class with Rose tomorrow, something she wasn’t looking forward to in the slightest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is this mysterious man? Jump over to the next chapter to find out! Thanks for reading!


	4. The Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the failed attempt to bring back Rose's sister, Paige, Rey is dreading class the next day. Meanwhile, the mysterious man makes a bolder visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is on the shorter end, Chapter 3 and 4 were supposed to be one chapter, but it was way too long so I shortened it into two. So think of this as "part 2"! Thanks to my awesome betareader, Kylohhh!
> 
> A warning - there is some violence in this chapter.

Rey woke up the next morning from a dreamless night. Thankful that her alarm actually went off this morning, she had more time to get ready for class. She pulled her hair back into her favorite hairstyle, three neat buns in a line. Before leaving for class, Rey pulled out a spare notebook and began jotting down the dream, the vision, what she learned from the Dean, Professor Solo, and about the Resistance from Rose. She planned to head to the library right after class and get digging on these connections. Closing her notebook, she convinced herself that she would get to the bottom of this, with or without that damn manuscript.

Class was just as awkward as she expected. Unfortunately, Professor Holdo made their seats “assigned” for the remainder of the semester, meaning she was stuck sitting next to Rose until December. Rose got to class looking like she had just woken up, her eyes puffy from obvious crying. Rey winced as she wanted to reach out with condolences for the projection not working. What could you say? Rose truly believed it was going to work.

“So, I just wanted to say sor-”

“Don’t talk to me,” Rose interrupted, her expression cold as she turned her attention to the front of the classroom. Rey looked down and tried to ignore the elephant in the room, thankful that Professor Holdo stepped in to begin class.

She couldn’t focus all through class. She kept adding more to the notebook she started. Looking down at her pencil, Rey felt the urge to try her hand at making it rise. She placed it in front of her, ignoring the professor's rambling about the importance of focus and she closed in on the pencil. With determination, she placed all of her focus on the pencil and lifting it from the desk. Her head started to hurt when the pencil started to shift around, not quite lifting, but close.

Suddenly everything stopped in an eerie silence. Rey felt trapped in her body as she could only move her eyes. Her arms, legs, nothing would budge, except for her eyes. She shifted her gaze to Professor Holdo who was just as frozen as she was. What the fuck was going on? Did she do this while playing with her pencil? The pacing in her breath picked up as she started to hear heavy footsteps approaching from the back of the classroom. How was this person moving? She could only look forward at the professor as the man came into her vision. Her heart dropped. It was the man in the mask from her vision. Fear crept up her throat as she prayed that he would not recognize her. 

The man walked around the desk to where the professor stood immobile. Rey watched Professor Holdo's eyes shift fearfully as she tried to figure out what was going on. The man pulled something out of his pocket and a bright, red, light ignites from the tip. Rey would guess that the weapon is a lightsaber, though not traditional as it has two angry red components shooting out of each side like a crossguard. The similarities between the description of the lightsaber and this weapon was uncanny. Rey’s breath picked up as the entire class watched the man in the mask bring down the weapon on the professor. The older woman broke from the frozen spell and fell to the ground. The rest of the class remained frozen in horror as the man walked back around to the front of the class. A scream stuck in Rey’s throat and her eyes welled up with tears.

Rey really started to freak out now, as much as she could considering her stationary stance. Her breathing was nearing a full-blown panic attack as the mask faced her directly. Rey wished she could talk, scream, run, anything to get out of this current situation. The man stopped at her desk and bent down to eye level. Rey willed herself to look unafraid. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she felt a gloved hand wipe them away, almost tenderly.

“So it is you. The girl I’ve heard so much about.” a deep voice, distorted by a modulator escaped the mask. She felt something else, a pressure in her head that feels worse than any hangover she has ever felt. It invaded her thoughts, pulling and sifting through her memories as if he was looking for something specific. It was worse than the feeling from her vision. Was he using the force too? Could he have used it to immobilize everyone in the room?

“You’ve seen him, haven’t you?” he stated, almost as if he found what he was looking for. She felt him digging deeper into her mind, viewing all of the intimate thoughts and feelings that she had ever experienced. Rey felt like her head would explode from the pressure when she heard the back doors burst open. The man removed his hand from her face as if it were burning him, and he looked up at the intrusion.

“You don’t belong here anymore! Get out!” Rey heard the Dean’s voice shout from behind her. It wasn’t as confident as Rey has hoped. She spoke to him as if she knew exactly who he was. Rey felt a push in the force as the man flew back to the wall in front of the classroom. His laugh sounded creepy, yet amused behind the mask as he threw his arm out towards the Dean. The older woman flew back and sunk into the wall behind them.

“You won’t find him here, Kylo Ren. How could you do this to Amilyn? After everything she’s done for you! You will not touch another soul at this school, you beast! Leave this place, you are not welcome here. You really are gone,” she hissed angrily with tears in her eyes. The man ignored her and walked back to Rey’s desk. Still frozen, Rey could only hope that this man would get what he came for and move on.

“I’ll see you again soon, Rey,” he declared, and with that, he faded into nothing. Everyone could move again. Students rushed to the front and the back of the classroom to check on Professor Holdo and the Dean in the back. Some students even took off in a run. Rey sat at her desk, with a hand clasped over her mouth and a stream of tears fell from her eyes. Rose turned to Rey and grabbed her hand.

“Are you OK? How did that guy know you? Have you seen him before?” the questions flew from her mouth and Rey shook her head, still in shock.

“Only once, in a vision. Last night. That’s why I was in such a trance. I don’t know who he is,” she whispered, attempting to slow down her panicked breath. Rose looked around the classroom and her eyes stopped at the clock behind them. She shook Rey’s shoulder and pointed.

“Look. The clock.” Rey turned around and her a sinking feeling hit her stomach. 12:00pm. 12 hours after their attempt to reach out to Paige. Did they bring this man to their world? Was professor and Dean's injury their fault? Did she unleash this monster with her vision? Before she could respond, she heard her name. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw all of the students staring at her. Had they heard the one-sided conversation too?

“Miss Erso, I think you need to come with me.” Dean Organa stated. Grabbing her books with trembling hands, she took one last glance at Rose and then followed the Dean into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check the next update to see more interaction between Rey and this new man in her life ;) Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always welcome!


	5. Just a Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Rose work together to process the events of Professor Holdo's class, however, a new connection with the Beast adds to the confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! My life has been crazy with work, but here is another update! Thank you for your patience and thanks as always to my awesome beta Kylohhh!
> 
> **As a note for this chapter, there is mention of the Neitherlands and that is a fictional creation of “The Magicians”, the show/book series that this fic is based on. I am taking some major liberties with this concept so keep that in mind with reading. But the concept does not belong to me.

The cup of tea in Rey’s hand did nothing to calm her shattered nerves. She sat in the Dean’s office and stared at her in silence, her eyes begging the woman to speak. 

“Do you know what he meant by saying that you were the girl he had heard so much about?” the Dean asked, her hands clasped on the desk. Rey took a shaky breath and shook her head for what felt like the thousandth time. For the past hour, the conversation went through the repetitive motion of going through what happened and Rey was running out of things to say. 

She neglected to tell the Dean about the seance she and her friends performed the night before. She also left out that the attack was exactly 12 hours after said seance. Oh, and the part where she had a dream-like encounter with the man in the mask before he showed up at the school. Dean Organa leaned back, pulling Rey’s attention from her thoughts. 

“I guess I should explain that this attack was not random. The man that spoke to you today has a nickname that he has earned over the years, the Beast.” Rey kept a straight face while her mind reeled at the coincidence in the name. The Girl and the Beast. She noticed that the Dean was fighting to keep her composure as her hands slightly shook. The older woman pulled them off the table and placed them in her lap. 

“How did he earn this name?” she asked timidly. 

“He has a track record of heinous and evil acts,” she stopped to swallow, “Rey, he kills force users. Professor Holdo was not his first attempt and unfortunately it won’t be his last.” 

Rey took a deep breath and rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants. The Dean blinked quickly and cleared her throat before changing her tone.

“With that being said, you must understand why I find it so curious that he singled you out of all of the other students to tell you that he’s heard of you. He’s probably heard about all force users, but Amilyn got the sword, you just got a comment. Rey, are you sure you have never seen this man before in your life?” the older woman continued. Rey swallowed and shook her head once more. She wasn’t about to tell the Dean about the vision or seance. The last thing she needed was to be tagged as a conspirator to this monster’s crime.

“Why does he murder force users? Where did he come from?” Rey asked. The Dean looked up at the ceiling in contemplation before shaking her head slightly and focusing back in on Rey.

“Not all force users are good, Rey. Some people use their abilities for harmful and dangerous reasons. You’ll learn more about it as you continue through the program. All we really know about the Beast is what he does. Nothing about his origin or motives.”

Rey sat in silence. She was relieved that she didn’t provide more of her story as she got the feeling that the Dean was lying to her about the Beast. Who just goes around murdering other people because they have the same abilities, and yet no one knows a thing about him? She didn’t need her force abilities to tell her that there was more to this tale. The Dean wasn’t telling it.

“Well, I guess that’s all for now. Thank you for telling me everything you know. Oh, and Rey? If you see him again, or hear anything about his whereabouts, please come to me at once. That’s very important,” the older woman stated as she stood up, giving the indication that theis meeting was over. Rey wouldn’t get any more information from her.

“Dean Organa, will Professor Holdo be alright?” Rey asked as she stood, picking up her bag. She was extremely concerned for the professor as she watched along with the rest of the class as the woman was ruthlessly cut down. Especially now that there was a possibility that she and her friends accidentally gave this man access to the school.

“Amilyn will be alright. She has substantial injuries and she will have a long road to recovery, but she is going to survive. That’s nice of you to ask, Rey. If you’d like to go see her, let me know and I’ll put you on the list. Visitors are to be kept to a minimum right now,” the Dean explained sadly. Rey could tell that she was still upset about her colleague, respectfully so.

“That sounds great. I would love to see her when she is feeling up to visitors. Thank you for talking with me. Please let me know if I can be of any more help to the investigation. If I see him again, I will be sure to inform you!” Rey announced, eager to get back to her dorm so she could process everything. Her phone had been constantly vibrating with calls that she could only guess was Finn, Poe, or maybe Rose.

\--------------------------

As she hustled in the direction of her dorm, she heard the sound of footsteps running behind her in the Quad. Rose huffed as she caught up with her and Rey stopped to give the girl a break.

“You weren’t even walking that fast, but my little legs just couldn’t catch up!” She breathed heavily. Rey laughed slightly before returning to a serious manner.

“Sorry about that. This morning has been crazy. Rose, I don’t know what we did, but I think we brought that man here!” she replied, gradually bringing her voice to a whisper. Rose looked around and pulled Rey closer to her as they continued on the path to the dormitories.

“I studied the book while you were in the office with the Dean. I scrubbed all of the notes from my sister. Nothing mentioned a possible portal opening or anything! What did the Dean say about that? How did he even find us?”

“Well, here’s the thing about the Dean. She only t-“

“Rey! Rose! I’m so glad you two are alright! Rey, you have a lot of missed calls from us. Where in the hell have you been? We were worried about you guys. They wouldn’t let us into the building or anything!” Finn rushed up to the girls and grabbed Rey into a tight hug. She returned the hug and a warmth filled her heart. She actually had friends here!

“I was just telling Rose that the Dean didn’t tell me much, but she did say that this man goes by the Beast and he apparently gets off on killing people like us,” Rey announced as she pulled away from Finn. Rose raises her eyebrows and a few expletives left Poe’s lips.

“I heard he talked to you, Rey. What was that about?” Poe asked, tilting his head at her. Slightly panicked, Rey shrugged nonchalantly in an attempt to brush it off. She wished no one had witnessed that one-sided interaction. The stares would probably continue for a while.

“He was just toying with me. He probably just picked the first person in his line of sight. I honestly have no idea. I told the Dean about it,” she replied quickly, hoping the group wouldn’t prod her more about it.

“Did you tell the Dean about our soirée the other night?” Poe asked. Rey shook her head and all three sighed in relief.

“Good, because I’m not about to get expelled for playing ghost hunter,” he replied, shooting a look at Rose. Rose huffed and crossed her arms.

“You know what, you guys didn’t have to agree to help me. It’s not like I made anyone do it. Besides, no one can prove that we gave the Beast access! Right, Rey?” Rey looked down as she tried to process. As much as she wanted to tell Rose that she was right, she honestly wasn’t sure.

“Rose, the incident happened 12 hours after our attempt. If they find out about the seance, we could all be toast. I truly hope we didn’t have a hand in bringing him here. The thought makes me sick. Professor Holdo is in really bad shape,” she explained. The group was silent until Rose huffed once more.

“I’m going to find out what exactly happened and prove to you guys that trying to contact my sister has nothing to do with this stupid Beast! Who’s coming to the library with me?” she exclaimed.

“I’ve got homework, I can’t,” Finn replied sympathetically.

“I’m not getting involved in this anymore. C’mon, Finn, let’s go,” Poe added. The two boys waved goodbye to Rey as Rose looked expectantly at her. Rey sighed and shook her head.

“Rose, I’m absolutely exhausted after everything this morning. I just need some time to rest and process this. Can we meet up later? Show me what you find and we can get started!” she promised. Rose didn’t look completely happy with her response but she shrugged and nodded. Both girls exchanged phone numbers and Rey all but ran to her room.

\------------------------------

Upon returning to her room, Rey tumbled into her bed and got underneath her covers. She began shivering as her brain attempted to process everything. She had so many questions and the events from that morning played in her head like a bad movie. Who the hell was this Beast person and what is the coincidence that his name was on that manuscript?

What did he want with her? How did he know her? Why did he decide to show up? Was the prediction that Luke said about Rey not leaving school coming true? Questions shifted through her mind as her eyes roamed around the room. She gasped when she noticed the missing manuscript sitting neatly on her desk, as if it had never left. She didn’t care what had happened to the damn thing but she was so happy to see it once again. Eager to get it into her hands, she shot her hand out toward the object. It was a good a time as any to practice her abilities. She concentrated on the book and it slowly lifted from its place on the desk and floated in an unstable fashion into her arms. Holding it tightly in her hands, Rey sat up in her bed and opened it to the first chapter, “The Encounter”. As she was reading through the first couple pages, Rey realized that this chapter was literally retelling her dream with Luke Skywalker. Utterly confused, she read more.

After recapping the seance and the encounter with the Beast, Rey reached the end of the chapter with ‘Rey’ glancing at the clock. She flipped over to see what happened next and it was completely blank. Panicked, she flipped through the rest of the manuscript to also discover that everything was blank except for the first chapter. What the hell! Was this some sort of creepy storytelling of her life? Why was it the seventh book in the Core Galaxy Series? Who the hell had taken it, filled it in, and returned it to her dorm? Frustrated tears welled up in her eyes as she quickly wiped them.

Nothing made sense. Absolutely nothing. The dreams, the manuscript, this fucking Beast. She felt like the universe was completely playing with her mind. Was she secretly in a psych ward somewhere, high on medicine and dreaming this whole thing up as one elaborate hallucination? Rey dropped the manuscript on her bed and paced the room. Willing herself to take deep breaths, she pinched herself to remind her that this was all real. As she anxiously paced she felt a pressure fill her brain and the all of the sounds around her fell silent. Hearing only the sound of her breath and the static in her mind, she turned abruptly towards the door to come face to face with the Beast himself. Startled, Rey squealed and jumped back.

“You want to kill me. That’s not a quality they teach force users at this school,” he stated in a deep, distorted voice. Rey pushed down her urge to run and bared her teeth at him.

“That’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask! You’re going to pay for what you did to Professor Holdo,” she hissed. A laugh escaped him and he raised his arms to lift the mask.

Rey was taken aback by the man that they call the Beast. He didn’t look like a beast at all. She was expecting an older man in his mid-fifties with scars and harsh lines. Like Dark Lord Vader. This man was young, maybe only a little bit older than she was. His black hair was styled neatly around his face. With his hair, long face and tall stature, he looked regal. She tried to conceal her surprise quickly as his eyes bored into hers.

“Can you see my surroundings? I can’t see yours. Just you.” He ignored her comment about the professor, looking around before turning back to her.

“What’s happening to me? Why are you here?” she demanded, taking a step back. He smirked and shrugged.

“Not sure. Somehow the force is connecting us. Does it scare you? Knowing that the Beast has full access to you whenever he feels like it? I’m sure that makes you nervous for your other classmates. Professors too.” It was unnerving how calm he was being around her. She felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest.

“I’m not scared of you. You’re wrong. The force wouldn’t connect me to a monster like you!”

“Says the girl that’s plotting my murder in her brain this very minute. I can read it by the way. I can learn everything about you in seconds. Now that I think about it, this is a perfect connection. I have full access to that witless, self-righteous school of yours,” he hissed. He held his arm out toward her and she could feel him shifting in her mind once more. This time she was prepared for it. Rey fought back against the shoving sensation into her mind. If he was startled by the resistance, he didn’t show it as he took a step towards her, pushing harder.

“Get out of my head!” she screamed out at him. He continued to shove until a loud knock startled them both. Both turned to the door. When she looked back towards him she saw that he was gone. The knocking continued. Catching her breath, Rey shakily opened the door to see the Dean looking at her with a concerned expression.

“Is everything okay, Rey? I heard screaming. Who was in your head?” the older woman questioned. Rey’s heart dropped. This was the second time someone heard her conversation with the Beast. She faked a laugh and clasped a hand over her forehand.

“Oh ma’am, I’m so embarrassed. You see, I’ve been having so much doubt with my homework. So I’m just telling those doubtful thoughts to you know, ‘get out of my head!’” she replied, laughing once more for good measure. She knew the Dean didn’t buy it as she responded with a fake laugh of her own. The woman leaned in a bit from the door frame and Rey watched her stare at the manuscript. She turned back to Rey with a smile.

“Well, I see you found your book! Maybe after you are done reading it, I can have a look? I’m such a huge fan of Maz’s work. Sometimes that story feels just like home. I’d love to know what happens next. Sorry for bothering you, Rey. I’ll leave you alone to your studies.” With that, the Dean turned to leave. Rey rushed out of her room and called out to the older woman.

“Was there a reason for your visit?” she asked. Dean Organa shook her head.

“No, you’ve been through a lot, so I wanted to make sure you were holding up alright. Not everyone gets to talk to the Beast and live through it. Still trying to work that one out,” she replied. Rey smiled as the woman turned away once more. She rushed back into her room and slammed the door.

Did the Dean hear everything? She knew that the woman didn’t buy her stupid lie. She bit her lip, processing her conversation with the Beast. He said he could read her mind. He said he was going to use her to get to the school! What if Luke Skywalker was right? She had to get out of here. She could put everyone in danger.

The thought of leaving made Rey want to cry. This was the first place she could truly call home and mean it. She thought back to her friends that she’d only known for a few days and she already loved them dearly. She was angry that this monster was going to ruin everything for her because he had some strange grudge with kind force users. She wasn’t leaving. She was going to get to the bottom of this!

With an angry sigh, Rey grabbed her books and rushed to the library to meet Rose. She picked up coffee on the way and then shuffled along the marble floors of the library until she found Rose hunched over a table by the window. Books were strewn all across the top in an untidy fashion. Rose looked up from “The Travelers, Volume I” and Rey inwardly winced. The poor girl looked like she needed a nap. Rose yanked her coffee from Rey and took a generous sip.

“I think I’m onto something!” she whispered excitedly. Rey sat down and urged her to continue. Rose shoved a book into Rey’s face.

“This is an old mythical volume about force users jumping into different planets. On each planet, there were dimensional “doors” that allowed others to transport themselves here. That’s why we have so many otherworldly artifacts! The thing is, you couldn’t just jump from one planet to another. All planets had a transitional portal called the Neitherlands. Meaning “the place between all other places”. It didn’t exist in any time plane and it was said that force users would often get lost in the Neitherlands if they didn’t know how to find the portal door that they were looking for. It was supposed to be a connector between planets but it’s very complex and without a map, you are pretty much screwed. What if Paige is somehow stuck in this place and that’s why we couldn’t reach her?” Rose explained quickly. Rey took a sip of her coffee and blinked before she unleashed her confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about, Rose? We need to be focusing on this Beast and finding out how the fuck he even got here! That place probably doesn’t even exist! It’s called a mythical volume for a reason,” She replied. She feared that comment came out more harshly than it should have, but when you have this man in your head and making contact with you, that adds urgency to the situation. “We need to figure out how to keep this Beast out or get rid of him. He could hurt so many people. I know you want to find your sister, Rose, but this is really important.”

“Rey, that’s what I’m saying. This is all connected! The Beast must’ve found a way in through this Neitherlands place! It makes sense that this place would exist. That night when we were trying to contact my sister, we lured him in, like a beacon. It could’ve been anyone! We would’ve had no way to predict that. Paige’s notes weren’t complete. There’s no mention of an in-between place between planets. That’s why we messed up. I thought it was going to be easy. I’m so stupid for thinking that was going to work. I didn’t even think about my sister not even being on this planet. The Resistance was up to some crazy things involving the force. Now, look what happened,” Rose finished, her voice cracking. Rey’s expression softened and she reached a hand out to her friend.

“Rose, it’s like you said. We couldn’t have predicted it. It’s not your fault. You just wanted to find your sister. I know all about missing family, trust me. I’ve been in foster care since I was 10. I got a charity scholarship and got the hell out of my foster home and went off to college. That never changed the fact that I wanted a family of my own. We’ll figure this out. I think the Beast knew what he was looking for when he came across our beacon. It was no accident. Now, all we can do is to figure out a way to keep him from getting in again!”

“What do you mean not an accident? How? He completely destroyed Professor Holdo. She’s going to be in recovery for almost a year. We’re first years, Rey. We won’t stand a chance against that weapon of his! ” Rose complained. Rey couldn’t argue there, but she also knew a bit more about the Beast than Rose did.

“We will. I’ll explain what I know, but I’m only going to tell this story once, so let’s go find Finn and Poe. We’re going to need their help.” Rose scoffed at the mention of her two friends.

“You heard Poe, he said he didn’t want to be involved!”

“I think he’s going to want in on this. Besides, they are the upperclassman, they know a ton more than we do. Surely if we all work together, we’ll figure this out! That Beast is as good as gone!” Rey declared, hoping that statement was true for her sake. In the back of her mind, she felt as if a piece of him still lingered there, waiting for the next chance to strike. Oh, how she dreaded that next force connection.

“Let's go. But first, we need to stop by my room. There is a book I need to grab.”


	6. Enter the Mystery Gang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Rose rush to the rest their crew to put more pieces of the puzzle together. Meanwhile, Rey's force bonds with the Beast are intensifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back for another update! I’ve discovered writing on my phone and it's so much easier than dragging myself to the computer! Thanks to my wonderful beta Kylohhh for keeping my head on straight as this story gets more into the twilight zone! Also, the wonderful [ AlbaStarGazer ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlbaStarGazer) made the beautiful mood board that you see below! It's absolutely stunning, thank you so much!!!!

                                         

 

 

\------------------------

 

The third-year students were lucky enough to live in what the school considered ‘off-campus housing’ that was a large, old Victorian house in the woods. It was large enough to accommodate 12 people, but according to Finn, there were only eight in the current class. Rey and Rose were heading to that exact location that evening so that they could tell Finn and Poe the latest on what they found. Rey held the manuscript close to her chest as they stepped through weeds and twigs. She noted Rose’s curiosity when they picked it up at her dorm, but Rey promised to tell her when they met up with Finn and Poe. So they chatted about classes and homework until they approached the house up ahead. 

 

“Geez, I guess we have this to look forward to in a couple of years!” Rose squealed as they approached. Rey nodded and admired the romantic architecture. At least she tried to admire it. The sound of a thumping bass shook the foundation of the old residence. Rolling her eyes, she followed Rose up to the door to discover that there was no knob or handle. Confused, the girls searched the door and surrounding area for a way to get in. Nothing. Not even a doorbell.

 

“Is this some kind of joke?” Rose asked, crossing her arms. She leaned back as she looked down the porch for another possible way in.

 

“Let me text Finn and see if they can let us in,” Rey replied while Rose was inspecting a nearby window. A chime went off in her phone and she read it aloud.

 

“Finn says, ‘The only rule in this house is to figure out how to get in’. He has to be kidding. This is ridiculous!” Rey exclaimed. Rose took a deep breath and stalked over to the door. Drawing her hands into fists, the girl banged on the door while yelling, “Let us in, you idiots! We don’t have time for this!” Another chime pinged on Rey’s phone. She looked down to see a text from Poe.

 

“Really? Because we have all the time in the world…” Rey didn’t even bother angering Rose more with the comment. She leaned against the porch railing and stared at the door, digging for a solution. Then it hit her. This school is all about using the force. Obviously!

 

“Rose, get over here! We have to open this door using the force! We can both do it. Stand right here and let’s get this thing open!” she declared. Rose stopped banging and shrugged as she joined Rey. Both girls held their arms out toward the door and flexed their fingers. Rey turned her concentration to getting the door to unlock and open. The force, while still new to her, was an intriguing sensation. She could feel everything moving and shifting around her. It ran through your veins like a drug as you bent it to your will, for whatever task it was that you were aiming to do. After a few moments, the door rattled in protest and after a few more seconds of resistance, it swung open.

 

Both girls signed in relief and stepped in. The place was a fucking animal house. Students were playing beer bong and drinking, dancing, smoking, and other various and questionable activities. Rey pushed her way through the crowd, her eyes searching for Finn or Poe, whoever she could reach first. She finally spotted Finn behind a makeshift bar, pouring Poe another drink. Rey shuffled up to the bartop as both looked up at her with devious smirks.

 

“Hey! Look who it is. They figured it out! Our house is all about using what we’ve learned in everyday practice, ladies.” Poe announced as he used the force to lift his drink. Rey snatched it and threw it down on the table, not impressed.

 

“That’s great. Let’s get a tour another day. Rose and I need to tell you guys something. Can we go somewhere private?” she asked.

 

“Rey, is this about the whole Beast thing?” Finn asked nervously.

 

“Whoa, slow down. It had better not be, because I told you girls yesterday that we weren’t getting involved!”

 

“We are all involved and I have a way to prove it!” she retorted.

 

“Yeah! Rey has something she wants to tell us about the Beast! Show us, Rey!” Rose agreed, turning to Rey. Now that it was showtime, Rey honestly felt more nervous about bringing it all up to her friends. Swallowing, she nodded with false confidence and whipped the manuscript out of her bag and waved it at Poe and Finn. Poe leaned in to read the title and laughed.

 

“Galaxy Core Series!? Jesus Christ, Rey, what is this? Fanfiction? Look at this thing, Finn!” He joked. Rey blushes and snatched it closer to her. She sighed angrily and gathered her thoughts. Finn, Poe, and Rose looked at her with confused expressions.

 

“No, it’s not fanfiction, actually! All of our names are in here! It’s a retelling of the seance and the encounter with the Beast. Then suddenly the rest of the pages are blank. This manuscript was missing two days ago and it appeared on my desk with the pages filled in. So yes, I think you are involved! We all are. Now, can we go somewhere private so I can tell you more?” Rey explained in one quick breath. Poe and Finn exchanged looks and Poe nodded.

 

“Yeah, let’s go to my room.”

 

—————————————-

 

“So, you’re telling me that the force picked you, picked us, to destroy this Beast guy? All because some book wants to tell a story? I’m confused, Rey. How do I know you didn’t just type this up or something?” Poe asked. Everyone was huddled on Poe’s bed. Rey told them the entire story, from getting the manuscript from the mysterious coroner to her dream with Luke Skywalker and the vision with the Beast.

 

“It was missing yesterday before I met Rose and learned about her plan to do the seance. I was going to make posters for it but never got around to it. Besides, some of the passages describe my dream as if the writer knows where I was, and I didn’t. It said that I was on the Finalizer with the Beast. I don’t even know what the hell the Finalizer is! Some sort of ship? My point is, all of these things are connected. We have to work together to get rid of him. It’s like this task was meant for us.” she replied. Poe raised his eyebrow skeptically and looked at Rose hanging on to every word.

 

“You girls are nuts. So you think all of this is telling us to destroy a man who, and remind me because I wasn’t there, almost killed a seasoned professor.” He pointed to Rey before pointing to Rose, “and you think there is some weird portal passageway called the Neitherlands that somehow the Beast used to come specifically to this school. I don’t know which one of you is crazier at this point.”

 

Rey and Rose went off on a stream of tangents in an attempt to prove their point to the stubborn man. They didn’t notice Finn looking through the manuscript.

 

“Um, guys?” More yelling.

 

“Hey, this is...weird. Guys?” No response.

 

“Hey, can you guys freaking chill a second!?” Finn yelled. All three turned to him in shock. Finn held up the manuscript to show, “Chapter 2: A New Team”. Rey and Rose audibly gasped while Poe ripped the book from hands.

 

“They all sat in Poe’s room while Rey told them the tale of her dreams and visions and how they connected to the Beast. What the fuck? This thing is literally writing as we speak!”

 

“I told you! We are all connected!” Rose declared. Finn shook his head aggressively.

 

“No! No! If what that book says is true and if what Luke Skywalker told Rey in her dream is true, then we need to run! We have to leave this school before he finds us again.” he declared.

 

“That’s exactly what the Beast wants. The only people that have a connection to this man somehow are in this room. If we leave, who will protect the school? This is our home! We can’t just let this man destroy everything!”

 

“Rey is right. I mean whatever the hell is going on, we’re in the middle of it. As much as I hate to agree, we have to stay and fight.” Poe replied. Rose nodded and they all fell silent.

 

Guilt washed over Rey as she hadn't told them about the other connection she shared with the Beast. She decided that was a detail she needed to leave out for now. She could use it to their advantage if they needed it down the road. But for now, she would keep it to herself.

 

“Ok. So now that we all understand, what is the next step?” Rose spoke up.

 

“We need to find out more about this Beast. That’s the first step. That way we can figure out his weakness.” Rey stated. She looked at Finn and could see from his expression that he was still nervous about all this. The truth was that she was too.

 

“Well, you mentioned that the Dean told you they knew nada about this guy. What do you think?” Poe asked.

 

“She’s lying or covering something up. I think he was waiting on a way in here and he found it through us. We need to find out if he has a past with this place. Hell, we need to find out his real name.” she replied, her cheeks burning red. Poe and Rose nodded.

 

“Poe, didn’t you work for the Dean a year or so ago? Can you get us into her office somehow? I think that’s a good place to start.” Rose suggested. Poe looked wearily at her and then nodded.

 

“I did. I’ve actually still got the keys! She never asked for them back. She’s usually gone in the mornings for meetings with the staff. Maybe that’s our time frame to snoop?” Rey nodded.

 

“Perfect. I don’t have class tomorrow morning. All of the classes for first years were canceled for the remainder of the week. I’ll meet you outside her office at nine am. Rose, while we are digging through the her office, can you work with Finn in the library? We need to learn more about the history of this place as well as the Neitherlands. If we can somehow find a map, that would be even better. You good with that?” she delegated. Rose nodded while Finn hesitated.

 

“I have class in the morning. Poe, it’ll look weird if we are both missing. I’ll meet up with Rose for lunch and then we can all meet back here around two pm?” he suggested. Both girls nodded.

 

“Alright then! It’s set. Let’s find out as much as we can tomorrow and go from there. In the meantime, keep your lips sealed. We don’t need anyone knowing what’s going on here. We can’t help out if we get expelled,” Poe explained.

 

Finn handed Rey the manuscript and she promised she would keep a better eye on it now that it actually served a purpose. She tucked it into her bag and followed Rose out of the door.

 

——————————

 

That night, Rey couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t sure if it was nerves or just fear of getting caught tomorrow. They were busting into the Dean’s office! What if a meeting was canceled and she came back early? Rey didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

 

Just as she rolled over to the other side of her bed, a familiar pressure in her head gradually increased. The same feeling right before -

 

“So, did the band of heroes figure out the origins of the Beast yet?” The deep voice echoed into her dorm. Rey looked up to see the man lounging on her bed, helmet off this time. Her brown eyes shifted to her feet that lingered dangerously close to his leg and she quickly pulled them up to her chest.

 

“How do you know what we are doing?” she asked apprehensively. He scooted closer to her after noticing her discomfort. How was he able to interact with her surroundings now? Was their connection getting stronger?

 

“I just figured you and your friends couldn’t leave it alone after your little communication attempt with that Resistance scum. Take it from me, you won’t hear from her. But thanks to you trying, here I am. Here we are.”

 

“So is it true? The Neitherlands? Is that place real?” she asked, getting down to business. Rey felt crazy for even having further discussions with this man, but maybe he could help without her giving away their plan. She focused on keeping her mind clear as she knew he could probably read it.

 

“I’m not going to make this easy for you, Rey. You just thought I’d tell you exactly how I found this place? And why? That wouldn’t serve any purpose but provide you with information. I don’t give anything away for free. Now, if you want to negotiate a deal, then we can-“

 

“I’m not negotiating anything with you! How do you know my name?”

 

“Here you go again with asking me to give away information for free. Tell you what, why don’t you tell me more about your dream with Luke Skywalker and then I’ll answer two questions.”

 

Rey mulled this over in her head. Should she make a deal with the devil? After all, he was asking about a supposed fictional character. Though, honestly, she wasn’t even sure of that anymore. Rey played the question off in a nonchalant manner.

 

“Fine. It was a silly dream where Luke told me to leave this school and that you would be coming for me. We were in this strange throne room and he said that it was time for the Jedi to end. Whatever that means.” she responded. He chewed on her words before asking.

 

“Did he still have the symbol of the resistance on his belt?”

 

“Yes, why does that matter?”

 

“Why didn’t you leave?” He deflected the question, leaving Rey frustrated.

 

“Because I thought it was just some stupid dream, okay? Why do you care about Luke Skywalker? He’s not even real.”

 

“Do you want that to be one of your questions? I think you already know the answer to that.” he asked, tilting his head at her. Her face burned under his stare. As much as Rey was curious, she knew she had to be picky about her questions.

 

“Is the Neitherlands real?”

 

“Yes. Next? Our connection is getting blurry so you might want to think fast.”

 

“Do you have a past with this school? Or planet?”

 

“Look in the Dean’s office and find out.” And with that, he stood up as the connection began to fade. Not quite ready for it end, and Rey wasn’t sure why, she stood up and stalked closer to him.

 

“Wait! What’s your real name?” she asked. He smirked and shook his head.

 

“Sorry Rey. That’s one question too many. Let’s play this game again.” And with that she watched him fade completely away. Once alone again, Rey rushed to her desk and began writing down everything he told her. She thought she was going to be able to keep this from her friends. She was wrong. He could be an asset. She just had to figure out how to get him to trust her. She also couldn’t ignore the weird feeling she got when he was around. Rey pushed it down and continued jotting down theories in her notebook.

 

—————————

 

“Damn, Rey, you look awful. What happened to you?” Poe stated. Rey ignored the comment as she stood next to the Dean’s door gesturing for him to open it.

 

“I’ll tell you more when we are inside. Let’s go before anyone sees us!” she whispered urgently. Poe shrugged and unlocked the door. They stepped in and Rey turned in a complete circle around the room.

 

“Do you think they have this place bugged?” she asked nervously. Poe shook his head and walked over to the bookcase.

 

“Nah. I know for a fact she doesn’t. She had these delicious little mints when I worked with her and I used to steal them all the time. She would’ve called me out. I’ll start over here,” he stated as he began pulling out books, searching for something, anything that would give them a clue. Rey had no idea what they would even be looking for but she remembered the Beast’s comment about learning of his past in this exact place. She needed to tell the group about this. Hopefully, Poe would be the least judgmental.

 

“So I need to tell you something,” she blurted out, leaning on a file cabinet.

 

“Ok...can you tell me while we look because we don’t have a ton of time.” Rey took a deep breath as butterflies filled her stomach.

 

“So the night we tried to reach out to Paige, I had a vision of the Beast,” she paused. Poe shifted his eyes to her and stopped searching.

 

“I-I have this weird connection with him, he’s talked to me a few times.”

 

“Before we even begin to talk about the fact that you are just now telling me this, what did he say?” he asked. She could tell his mood was teetering on angry.

 

“Nothing important. He mostly just taunts our connection and tries to scare me. I don’t know why it’s happening. But it is. I have to be careful with my thoughts around him.”

 

“I’ll say! Rey, this is dangerous. You are putting us all in more danger if he can see the goings-on of this school!”

 

“But this could help us! He let me ask two questions last night and he confirmed that the Neitherlands is real! He also said that the Dean’s office would reveal his past here. This is good right?”

 

“Well...as much as I don’t agree with your interaction with this asshole, he gave us a hint and I’ll take it. But we aren’t done talking about this. Let’s just see what we can find and hope it’s not a trap. Maybe check that cabinet there for something!” Rey nodded and pulled open the first drawer. She noticed names from A-E and began looking at the pictures of the students, hoping for a match. She felt dirty looking into other students files, but with luck maybe the Beast was a student at one time. For all she knew, it’s possible he was in that disappearing class along with Paige. That would explain how he knew her.

 

“Hmm. Looks like the Dean is a fan of that book series too! That can’t be a coincidence.” Poe interrupted her searching and held up a copy of the first book.

 

“Yeah, she mentioned it when I told her about the lost manuscript being the next book in the series. She apparently wants to read it. No chance of that happening now,” she mused, returning her attention back to the files. She searched through the M-R’s.

 

“There’s a note in here. ‘ Dear Leia. I know you will be strongly against it but I hope you allow Ben to read these one day. I know he will understand. He may be a Solo but he needs to know the truth about his family. If you won’t tell him, this will. Sincerely, MK,’” he read. “Ok, that’s weird. Hey, see if there is a Ben Solo in those files!” Poe exclaimed. Rey stifled a laugh.

 

“Whose being crazy now? That letter was addressed to Leia Skywalker. Whoever this Ben Solo guy is, he doesn’t exist!” she joked. Poe walked up to her with the book in hand.

 

“Our names are in the seventh book of the series. Has it really not crossed your mind that it’s possible all of these books are true? After the vision of Luke Skywalker?” he asked. Sure, Rey thought about it, but admitting it was a different story. It was hard to deny it now. This was all starting to add up. She honestly thought she would be more excited to be a part of her favorite story. Now she’s learning that it’s not what it’s cracked up to be now that real people around her are getting hurt. Not to mention this new friend she’s found in the force.

 

Tentatively, Rey pulled open the next drawer and sifted through the “S’s” to find “Solo, Ben”. Her heart dropped and she pulled the folder out and showed it to Poe. He gestured for her to open it. The picture made her heart stop momentarily. The young man staring back at her was the same man she was bantering back and forth with through a force connection. The same man who almost killed Professor Holdo. Ben Solo was the Beast.

 

“Well, would you look at that. He does exist,” Poe whispered.

 

“He was a student here. He was, is, Leia Skywalker’s son. Poe, this is him. This is the Beast. I’m sure of it,” she stated in shock. This was real. The Core Galaxy Series was based on real life events. So many questions ran through her mind. She couldn’t even consider it right now.

 

“Yes, we’ll meet up after lunch to go through more of the investigation.”  A voice pulled them both from their thoughts. The Dean was coming back. Rey slammed the file drawer shut and tucked the folder under her shirt. Poe shoved the book in his belt and pointed towards the window. Thankful that whoever was at the door kept the woman occupied while they pried the window open, Poe jumped out first into the bushes and held his hand out to Rey. She followed and quickly turned to slam the window shut as the door to the office opened. Both Poe and Rey leaned their bodies flush against the brick wall to ensure that the Dean wasn’t looking out the window before shimmying their way to the other side of the building.

 

It wasn’t until they reached the library that Rey took a deep breath. She kept looking around, waiting for Dean Organa to pounce, informing them that they had been expelled for trespassing. But it never came. The folder felt strange under her shirt and she waited until they found Finn and Rose huddled by a table before she pulled it out and slammed it on the desk.

 

“The Beast was a student. Ben Solo,” she breathes out. Rose and Finn looked at the folder as if it were about to attack them and then shifted their eyes to Rey. Poe pulled out a chair and tossed the book he took on the table.

 

“Turns out that this fantasy series we all loved growing up is a fucking history book for another world,” he announced, crossing his arms. He then pointed to Rey and she knew exactly what was coming next.

 

“And Rey here has some sort of force connection with this creep, which we are going to talk about, right here, right now.” Finn and Rose turned slowly to Rey. She blushed and took a seat to steady herself.

 

“He’s right. It all started during the seance. I had a vision of him and he didn’t say anything. The next time I saw him, he sliced up the Professor and went on about how I was the girl he’d heard about. Now, he shows up at random times and it’s like we can talk to each other but neither of us understands why. He’s going to try to use it against me but I won’t let him. I’m learning to control my mind in case he tries to dig in. He has a specialty of diving into your brain and pulling out what he wants,” she explained. Everyone remained quiet and just stared at her.

 

“Look, I don’t know how it happened or why we are connected, but I do know that I’m meant to be here and this connection will help us stop it! I found out vital information from him. He said the Neitherlands was real, Rose. He also said that he had a past here which, looking at this file, proves it. Ben Solo is the Beast. I’ve seen his face,” she finished. Finn huffed as if he was angry, and rightfully so. Rose just seemed hurt and confused, and Poe was indifferent.

 

“Rey, you know you can tell us this stuff. We are all in that book, we are all in this together. But we have to trust each other, ok? We’re friends,” Rose stated. Rey smiled at her and nodded while her stomach fell. She felt like she completely betrayed the people who took her in when all of this started.

 

“I won’t hold on to a single thing from now on, I promise. I’m going to use whatever this connection is to find out as much as I can without handing him our plans!”

 

“How do we know that?” Finn spoke up. His tone was angry and Rey was taken aback.

 

“I get it, you probably don’t trust me right now, but it wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone. I realized that this needed to be out in the open if we are going to fight this together. So I am asking you to trust me on this,” she replied. Finn made a “hmph” sound and crossed his arms.

 

“Ok, so what did you two find out?” Poe changed the subject. Rose quickly explained that they were close to finding the map of the Neitherlands, but the specific page was missing. Finn chimed in that he thought the map might be with a Professor or the Dean.

 

“It could be. We’ll need to get back in there anyway so that I can replace this book and Ben’s file,” Rey suggested.

 

“Why are you calling him, ‘Ben’, Rey? He’s the Beast,” Finn exclaimed. Rey resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Let him stay mad.

 

“Sorry, the Beast. So, I’ll copy this stuff down, along with the letter from the book. Poe, can you give me the keys to the Dean’s office? I’ll take them back when I finish. I’ll go after building hours.” Poe hesitantly handed over the key and agreed that it was the best option, but not before giving her a lecture on guarding the key with her life. Finn suggested that he go with Rey this time. She inwardly winced. That wasn’t going to be a fun trip when he was severely pissed at her. She decided to suck it up and told him to meet her there. The others left Rey to herself and she poured over the file.

 

There wasn’t much on Ben’s file. He was an exemplary student. Perfect grades, no behavioral issues. She did notice his attendance was at least nine years old, making him roughly in his early thirties. He was advanced in every class. “Why did you turn out so evil, Ben Solo?” she whispered to herself as she shifted to the last page of notes. She found a letter scrawled in terrible handwriting.

 

“Ben is a concern. I studied with him today in advanced techniques of reaching into the mind. I showed him by reaching into his own mind to show him how it feels. Leia, what I found is troubling. It’s very dark. Angry and malicious thoughts. I worry about another influence, not in this school. We need to have a discussion with Han immediately about this. Perhaps, I could take a leave of absence and take him under my wing for a few days. There is a separate school on the planet of Ach-To. Quiet, secluded, and no distractions. Let’s discuss this in your office today. Signed, Luke.”

 

Luke Skywalker. All of these names jumped out to her. Leia was here! At this school! Was she a professor? Luke must have been. Her breath hitched at the thought of being taught by Luke Skywalker. If Luke taught the force to people, did that mean that what they were really learning here was Jedi techniques? She snapped the folder shut and rushed to the Dean’s office, texting Finn to meet her there. Rey was at the point where she wouldn’t care if the Dean was there or not. She had questions and she was going to get answers.

 

The walk to the office was muddled with thoughts. Ben was Leia’s son and nephew to Luke. They both taught at this school. Luke must’ve seen darkness in Ben so he wanted to save him! But where did it go wrong? There were so many missing pieces to the story that Rey had to find. She hugged herself from the autumn cold as she approves the office. She saw Finn standing with crossed arms next to the door. Without saying a word, she fumbled with the key in the lock to the Dean’s office and pushed the door open.

 

Her eyes shifted to the leather chair and bright light in the corner of the room. She definitely wasn’t alone. The grumpy professor that the Dean was arguing with was slumped in the chair, nursing a drink in his left hand. Finn looked as if he wanted to run, but thought better of it as he followed her closer to the man.

 

“You here to bring back what you took? Relax kid, I don’t care. I knew you what you kids were up to when I spotted you in the hallway this morning.” He spoke in a slight slur. Rey walked up to him and plopped the folder down in his lap before taking a seat in the chair across from him. Finn stood behind her and leaned on the back of the chair, eyes intently on the older man.

 

“We need to know more about this. I don’t know if you can tell me anything, but we’ll wait here until the Dean returns.” she asserted. The man looked down at the folder and shifted his eyes back up to her.

 

“It’s true. All of it. I would know, I’m his father. Professor Han Solo, nice to finally meet your acquaintance.” And with that, he took another sip of his drink.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and feedback is always appreciated!


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